Thursday, November 6, 2014

Encouraging Recycling of Empty Aerosols

Americans generated about 251 million tons of trash and
recycled and composted almost 87 million tons of this material, equivalent to a
34.5 percent recycling rate, according to most recent EPA estimates. About 9% of the waste generated is metal.Aerosol products only make up a small
percentage of that, but 3.8 billion aerosol products are produced in the US
each year, so there is still a very large opportunity to make a significant
impact.

Representatives of CAPCO recently participated in the
national Resource Recycling Conference in New Orleans, LA to engage directly
with professionals in the recycling industry, including MRF (Material Recovery
Facility) operators, waste haulers, equipment suppliers, and recycling
coordinators for local municipalities.

CAPCO has been working to increase awareness that aerosol
products are recyclable.They are made
of steel or aluminum, which are infinitely recyclable and valuable in the waste
stream.According to the Steel
Recycling Institute’s (SRI) National Recycling Database, there are over
21,000 locations that accept steel cans, but only a third of those actively
publicize the acceptance of aerosol cans. Communication is vital to keeping
aerosols out of landfills.We are working
with partners like SRI to get a consistent message out to both consumers and
recycling programs.Aerosols ARE
recyclable when empty and this should be communicated by the municipality, the
waste hauler, and on the product itself.In many cases it is, but there is still work to be done.You
can help by inquiring with your municipality
to see if they’re accepted, and encourage them to include that information
clearly on bin/instructions, if so, or encourage them to include them, if not.Please visit www.AerosolProducts.org/recycling
for more information.